Determined by Fate
by FeirceDreamer
Summary: "Even as their parents lead them in separate directions, Edward felt as though this wouldn't be his last time seeing the little girl with brown eyes." E&B, canon couples eventually.
1. The Meeting

**A&N: I'd like to thank my two wonderful betas, Pygmypuff8, and Frigus cor. Also Bella is eight and Edward is 10. They'll meet now and then again two years later. I'll be updating when ever, I have the time (often). Thanks for reading and leave some constructive criticism in the reviews. :0 **

* * *

><p>Chapter One: <em>The Meeting<em>

They had first met while shopping at Toys "R" Us with their parents on a Saturday afternoon.

Running rampant through the aisles, while other parents looked upon them with judging eyes and thoughts of concern. Edward, little legs pumping, ran full speed down the aisles while his brother Emmett chased him with a dart gun. Bella, skipping aimlessly, searched for her next Barbie doll, a big happy smile on her face.

Edward came barreling down the aisle, trying to escape his brother's wrath and in attempting to escape his brother, he ran into Bella and toppled her over. Bella looked up at bronze-haired boy who she had been run over by, and she began to wail.

Edward, looking a bit frantic as he looked around for the little girl's parents, tried his best to console her, "I didn't mean to push you, please stop crying," he begged, his big green eyes pleading with her.

He looked around for his big brother, hoping Emmett would know what to do. Unfortunately he was nowhere to be found, having made himself scarce when he heard crying. He stared back at the weeping girl and remembered what his Gramps had told him, "When in doubt be a gentleman." so he said to her in his sweetest voice," Sorry for running you over, can I give you a hand?"

Bella blinked up at him, surprised and stopped her tears, looking at him cautiously, reaching for his friendly hand. When Edward pulled the girl to her feet he realized just how young she was. "Where's your, Mom?" Bella didn't know where she'd last seen her Mom, she'd struck up conversation with a guy from high school and Bella had wondered off," I don't know where she is," Bella admitted, looking a bit scared at the thought.

This conflicted Edward, so now he also had to help the weeping girl find her mother. "Come on, let's go find her." Bella shook her head, eyes to the floor," Why, not?" Edward asked, becoming a teensy bit exasperated, as he hadn't planned to spend his day babysitting a girl at least two years younger than him.

" I have to pick out a Dolly, first" she replied softly, her eyes on the ground." Well, pick one and lets go, I have a Mom too," he said a bit hastily. Bella frowned, picking a Dolly wasn't something that could be rushed, especially this doll. This was going to be her Show & Tell doll and it had to be perfect.

" I have to pick a special one," she stated adamantly and resumed her trek down the long hall of dolls. Edward let out a groan, rolling his eyes, he didn't think she'd be done anytime soon, so why wait on her. He couldn't convince himself to just leave the little girl here, even though her mother was bound to find her eventually.

She'd also need help if a toy was too high up for her to reach, so he decided to stick around. As he followed her, Bella wondered if her Dad was off duty yet. They were supposed to be swinging by Uncle Harry's for dinner. Loud stumps could be heard, rushing down the aisle. "Edward, Mom said it's time to go", Emmett panted, trying to catch his breath.

"We can't leave, I have to help this girl find her mom."

Almost simultaneously a blonde haired woman came flying down the hall, "Bel, Bel, sweetheart, where are you?" Bella was ripped out of her Barbie induced daze by the sound of her mother calling her name. She looked down the corridor to see her scatter-brained Mom coming towards her, worry etched across her face. "Sweetie, why'd you run off?" she asked grabbing Bella's chubby little face and peppering it with kisses.

"You said I could go get a Dolly for show and tell tomorrow, Mommy," Bella said accusingly, frowning at her mother.

"Baby, I meant we'd do it together." Renee replied, anxiously smoothing down Bella's hair.

"Emmett, I told you to get your brother so we could go", Esme stressed as she rounded the corner.

"I tried to tell him, but he insisted on helping the little girl find her mom," Emmett replied, disgruntled that his mother thought it was his fault.

Esme looked further down the aisle, past Edward, to see another mother chastising her child. Esme grabbed both Edward, and Emmett tugging them behind her as she went out of the shop.

Bella picked out her doll and she and her Mom went to go pick up her Dad from the station. Even as their parents lead them in separate directions, Edward felt as though this wouldn't be his last time seeing the little girl with brown eyes.

'


	2. The Dinner

**A&N:So I will update every Monday. Bella,10. Edward,13. Jasper,10. Emmett,15. Thanks, Pygmypuff8. For being the best beta ever and putting up with my crap. Enjoy. :)**

* * *

><p>"Even<em> as their parents lead them in separate directions, Edward felt as though this wouldn't be his last seeing the little girl with brown eyes."<em>

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O**

Divorce? Bella hadn't had a clue that her parents where even having issues. They always seemed happy and smiling when she was around. She'd heard of divorce from other kids at school, but she had never dreamed that she would be caught right in the middle of one.

All she could think about, was which parent she was going to stay with and how it was going to affect the other. Charlie couldn't live by himself, he couldn't cook and Bella was worried that he was going to starve. Renee wouldn't pay Bella any attention because she was always busy working. They needed each other so to Bella, divorce was not an option.

Somehow, her parents incessant arguing had caused them to send her to live with her Nana Swan in Forks, so that she didn't have to live in such an unstable household. They said it was just a vacation, but Bella wasn't stupid, she knew that seeing her would only cause her parents to fight more, which made her feel oddly responsible.

Bella was only going for the summer, which her parents hoped would be long enough for them to finalize the divorce, find separate houses and figure out visitation rights. So, Bella packed her bags, gave her tearful mother a kiss, and embarked on the long ride to Forks with her father.

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O**

As Bella and her father pulled into the driveway of her Grandma's two-bedroom house, Bella could already smell the delicious scent of an apple pie baking in the oven.

Nana came racing down the stairs as Bella opened the cab door, a wide, beaming smile on her face, "My baby, oh you've gotten so big!" she gushed enthusiastically, sweeping her up into a crushing hug.

"I'm the same height I was six months ago Nana, "Bella replied, grinning at her grandmothers exuberant hug.

"Where's that mother of yours sweetheart?" she asked perplexed, looking around at Charlie, who was awkwardly standing there.

"Um, well she couldn't come along to drop me off because she had work to do," Bella explained lamely, trying to look as if it didn't bother her.

"Work? Since when is a parent too busy to make sure their child gets somewhere safe?" Nana said incredulously, looking at Charlie for an explanation.

Charlie shrugged, not knowing what to say in the face of his mother's wrath, and just shook his head before kissing Bella on the forehead and making her promise to be a good girl. He got in the cab and drove off, waving back at Bella who was frantically waving at him.

Seeing her father disappear around the bend in the road leading of the main road, she turned to her Nana and attempted to calm her down, "It was only a three hour ride, Nana, it wasn't that bad. Besides, I had Charlie with me."

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart. Let's get you settled in," Nana said, seeing how distressed Bella had become with the insinuation that her mother wasn't a good mother. Bella let herself be led up the stairs leading towards the house, listening to her Nan say, "Leave your bags on the steps, I'll have one of the boys next door get it for you. I'll introduce you to them after dinner, they always drop by for desert."

As Bella stopped to put her bags beside the door, she saw three boys climb out of the car which had just stopped at the house next door. One of them was tall and hulking looking to be at least fifteen years old, maybe older, as he had lots of muscle, another was lanky, thin and tall with bronze-colored hair, (the color reminded her of something) and the last was short and stocky with blonde curly hair.

Looking at the boys climbing out of the car, Bella sighed, thinking that this was going to be an interesting summer. Bella didn't particularly get along with boys. Ever since Ryan Burma had called her an ugly duckling all through fourth grade last year, Bella hadn't been too fond of the male species.

As she trudged up the staircase to the guest room, she wondered if her mom would call to see if she had arrived safely at her Nana's house. She felt like the older she grew, the less Renee cared.

When she stepped into the guest room, she saw that her Nana had redecorated the whole room. Gone was the vibrant pink it had once been, replaced with an electric royal blue. Tears filled Bella's eyes, she had never felt so welcomed. She was lonely up in the Eastside suburbs of Seattle with only a dog and a nanny to keep her company.

It was devastatingly obvious that she was an only child, all she longed for was some attention and companionship, things that her father only had a little time to give her, and her mother almost none. Shaking her head to remove those melancholy thoughts, Bella decided to freshen up after a long ride and prepare for dinner.

** O.o.O.o.O.o.O**

Bella exited the steaming bathroom to find that someone had brought up her luggage and she could hear multiple voices talking. She dressed quickly, and headed downstairs. The three guys she had noticed climbing out of the car earlier, were seated around the table when Bella walked into the kitchen.

She smiled nervously and said, ''Hi," sitting down on the only remaining chair, which happened to be beside the bronze-haired boy. The big, brawny one grinned at her, and opened his mouth to introduce himself, "Hey, I'm Emmett. The older brother and cousin of these two idiots," he said laughingly, pointing at the two boys who were both scowling at him. Pointing at the boy sitting next to Bella, who seemed to be glaring at her, he continued, ignoring their glares, "That's Edward, and this is our cousin Jasper," Emmett pointed to the tall and thin blond one, who just nodded and looked at the floor, seeming painfully shy. Edward's face left Bella feeling a wee bit insecure, (she could swear that she had never seen such a beautiful boy) but she said, "Hey, it's nice to meet you guys. Thanks for bringing my luggage up." The boys acknowledge her thank you, and continued eating the spaghetti Bolognese her Nana had made.

Later on, while Bella was washing the dishes she wondered what Edward's problem was. Was he angry that he had had to take her belongings upstairs, or angry that she was there at all, though she couldn't figure out why that would be?

Whatever it was Bella didn't care, she was here to have a fun summer and to get away from her parents. She wouldn't let some _"bronze"_ headed boy get into her head with his opinion on her, she couldn't care less about what he thought about her.


End file.
